Last night, environmental enthusiasts from across the UW campus gathered in the HUB for the “Save the Earth Social,” hosted by the UW Green’s Coalition.

The social was an effort to bring many of the environmentally active groups on campus together for an opportunity to network with one another. In addition to environmental groups such as SEED and UW Earth Club, members from Young Democrats, WashPIRG and ASUW were in attendance as well.

As the green movement picks up steam around the world, these groups have been working harder than ever to create change.

In 2007, UW President Mark Emmert signed the President’s Climate Commitment, a national pledge system with more than 600 signed members that targets the threats of global warming and environmental degradation.

The pledge mandates that each signing school must create an institutional body to guide its efforts — hence the creation of the Climate Action Plan here at the UW.

“The main goal of the Climate Action Plan is to get the UW to be carbon-neutral,” said junior Alan Wright.

A school can achieve carbon neutrality by reducing its carbon emissions to zero. Wright, along with several other students and a collaboration of faculty and members of facilities services, intends to make that goal a reality.

The instigation of the Climate Action Plan is still relatively new, as the first formal meeting of the organization’s members — which range from students to service departments — took place last month.

“We formulated a list of ideas and real, tangible actions to help make the steps to carbon-neutral as guided and efficient as possible,” Wright said.

The Climate Action Plan will be split into two separate divisions, one with an academic focus to provide education and outreach, and another geared toward administrative policy and infrastructure changes that need to be made.

The members involved with putting the plan in place meet every two weeks, with the next meeting scheduled for Feb. 18.

Chris Bruno is one of those members, but his efforts are not limited to the plan.

During the summer, Bruno toured every structure on campus with building coordinators and logged a total of nearly 4,000 light bulbs that need replacements to become more energy-efficient.

With the help of Seattle City Light, volunteers and a little time, Bruno intends to have every light bulb replaced with a more efficient compact fluorescent light system.

“This project is a big thing to help increase awareness about things that can be done about the environment, because so many staff and students are involved.” Bruno said.

Like Bruno, other students around campus are organizing their efforts and starting projects to promote environmental awareness. All of the recent activism is indicative of the UW’s growing interest in environmental concerns.

According to the College Sustainability Report Card, the UW scored a B- in a cumulative grade from nine evaluated categories in 2007, but it has since achieved an A- and is now ranked among the top 15 environmentally-friendly universities in the country.

Reach reporter Brian Hsu at news@dailyuw.com.